Nina Isadore Schwartz, 25, also was ordered to complete 60 hours of community service by Boulder District Judge Maria Berkenkotter. Conditions of probation include mental health and substance abuse evaluation and treatment.

Schwartz pleaded guilty June 15 to one count of distribution of a controlled substance, a Class 3 drug felony, after initially being charged with manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide in the death of Austin O'Loughlin, 33.

While Schwartz could have faced prison, both prosecutors and Schwartz's attorney asked for probation.

Deputy District Attorney Ken Kupnfer said that while he was initially concerned about her not taking responsibility for her role in O'Loughlin's death, he said she has not used heroin since her arrest more than a year ago.

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"I cannot deny that she has done well," Kupfner said. "She's managed to sustain sobriety throughout the prosecution of this case."

An emotional Schwartz told Berkenkotter she was committed to turning her life around after a rough childhood.

"This is really the fist time in my life that I have been clean, and I want to be clean," she said. "I've never felt this good, never had this energy, never been able to do something and stick with it in my entire life. This is the best I've ever done, and I'm so committed to that. I couldn't go back after knowing how much better I feel now, how much clearer my mind is."

Berkenkotter agreed with the attorneys and recommended Schwartz be screened for female offender probation. She also said Schwartz staying clean was the key to her future.

"That's where the rubber meets the road in this case," Berkenkotter said.

Harvey Steinberg, Schwartz's attorney, said a probation sentence would help keep her on the path to recovery, and added he felt the initial charges were not appropriate.

"There never was a situation where there was enough evidence to believe Ms. Schwartz was responsible for this tragic death," said Steinberg, who pointed out that Schwartz was not the one who introduced O'Loughlin to heroin, contrary to initial reports. "This poor individual had his own demons, and they were long standing, and they were long standing before he got into a co-dependant relationship with Ms. Schwartz."

According to an arrest affidavit, O'Loughlin, was found dead of heroin toxicity on Feb. 28, 2015, after police received a 911 call from Schwartz's father.

According to the affidavit, Schwartz waited almost four hours after she knew O'Loughlin had "shot up way to (sic) much" and was unconscious before she notified anybody.

Kupfner defended the initial charges and also refuted Steinberg's assertion that Schwartz was not a true drug dealer because she only gave out small amounts to a small group of her friends.

"I understand that when most people think of a drug dealer, they think of a cartel with a fancy car, or a person making a significant profit moving a large quantity of drugs," Kupfner said. "But Ms. Schwartz is someone who distributed heroin to a number of individuals in the Boulder community. The facts are very clear: Ms. Schwartz was a heroin dealer."

Kupfner said the DA's office always has sought to charge heroin dealers with more than distribution charges in heroin overdose cases where it is appropriate to try and curb the increasing heroin use in the county.

"We are seeing the ramifications of the heroin epidemic that is sweeping the nation," Kupfner said. "Some people think Boulder is immune to those trends, but we are not. Over the last several years we've seen a doubling in heroin overdoses — men and women in their early 20s who are dying."

Kupfner warned that if Schwartz did not take her recovery seriously, her future was just as grim.

"Her life can go one of three ways," Kupfner said. "Ms. Schwartz will end up incarcerated either in jail or in prison, she will end up dead, or she will end up on the road to recovery."

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